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A review by thebigemmt505
Blindness by José Saramago
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“It even used to be said there is no such thing as blindness, only blind people, when the experience of time has taught us nothing other than that there are no blind people, but only blindness.”
The premise of Blindness is this: the population slowly behind to go blind without any explanation. The world quickly devolves into chaos as human nature is stripped down to its bare bones. There remains only one sighted person throughout the book.
It’s difficult to review this one. The writing style is difficult to get used to, with long run on sentences and no breaks between character dialogue. The author stays grounded in the plot while also being quite philosophical. The pace of the book is mixed ; the progression of the narrative feels extremely fast while the way it’s written slows it down. The characters are meant to fill simple roles, not even having names, and while this is intentional, the behavior of these characters throughout the book does actually give them a lot of distinguishing characteristics. It’s technically a very well-done book, but the whole product feels…odd, in a sense.
It’s thesis is both obvious and vague. Breaking the fragile threads that bind society is not difficult, in the sense it takes just one disaster, just one collapse, just one event that’s too difficult to manage before all social cohesion dissipates. It’s cliche almost, pointing out the fragility of society. I think the book depicts a collapse much more obscene and rapid than what would actually happen, even if there are now some very real life parallels to be drawn between this and the recent pandemic everyone faced in the real world. Though way over the top, I think it puts into perspective how ephemeral society and it’s constructs are, and how quickly their artificial importance slips away in the face of crisis. Education has no importance. Money has no importance. Even names bear no importance anymore. If no one can see it, what power does it have? This, for better and for worse.
There’s a lot of symbolism I likely missed, though, which makes it even harder for me to fully flesh out my thoughts on the overall meaning and impact of this book.
My favorite moment in the book is definitely the first scene with the dog of tears. Through all the barbaric, disgusting, “animalistic” behavior of the blind masses, two sentient beings who can still see the humanity in one another bond. My interpretation likely isn’t what was meant to be drawn from it, but I found it beautiful nonetheless.
All in all, it’s not an easy read, though I’d argue it’s a rewarding one. It’s a bit of a slog at points, if only after reading the same three lines seventeen times to try and figure out who is saying what, but still an intriguing and engaging read. It makes for an interesting experience, unsettling and disturbing, read. Give it a go, if you’re really in the mood for something dark and literary.
The premise of Blindness is this: the population slowly behind to go blind without any explanation. The world quickly devolves into chaos as human nature is stripped down to its bare bones. There remains only one sighted person throughout the book.
It’s difficult to review this one. The writing style is difficult to get used to, with long run on sentences and no breaks between character dialogue. The author stays grounded in the plot while also being quite philosophical. The pace of the book is mixed ; the progression of the narrative feels extremely fast while the way it’s written slows it down. The characters are meant to fill simple roles, not even having names, and while this is intentional, the behavior of these characters throughout the book does actually give them a lot of distinguishing characteristics. It’s technically a very well-done book, but the whole product feels…odd, in a sense.
It’s thesis is both obvious and vague. Breaking the fragile threads that bind society is not difficult, in the sense it takes just one disaster, just one collapse, just one event that’s too difficult to manage before all social cohesion dissipates. It’s cliche almost, pointing out the fragility of society. I think the book depicts a collapse much more obscene and rapid than what would actually happen, even if there are now some very real life parallels to be drawn between this and the recent pandemic everyone faced in the real world. Though way over the top, I think it puts into perspective how ephemeral society and it’s constructs are, and how quickly their artificial importance slips away in the face of crisis. Education has no importance. Money has no importance. Even names bear no importance anymore. If no one can see it, what power does it have? This, for better and for worse.
There’s a lot of symbolism I likely missed, though, which makes it even harder for me to fully flesh out my thoughts on the overall meaning and impact of this book.
My favorite moment in the book is definitely the first scene with the dog of tears. Through all the barbaric, disgusting, “animalistic” behavior of the blind masses, two sentient beings who can still see the humanity in one another bond. My interpretation likely isn’t what was meant to be drawn from it, but I found it beautiful nonetheless.
All in all, it’s not an easy read, though I’d argue it’s a rewarding one. It’s a bit of a slog at points, if only after reading the same three lines seventeen times to try and figure out who is saying what, but still an intriguing and engaging read. It makes for an interesting experience, unsettling and disturbing, read. Give it a go, if you’re really in the mood for something dark and literary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, Gore, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit